Kathryn Finney
Founder & Blogger
Digitalundivided/ The Budget Fashionista
Who inspires you?
Harlem. My community is so vibrant, so interesting, so loud, so hard, that I learn something new everyday.
Why are you an entrepreneur?
I like to run things.
Where do you see your company in the next five years?
I definitely see TBF Group being a part of a larger content network. In terms of digitalundivided (www.digitalundivided.com), I hope we’re SO successful with our goal to get the black community involved in the new tech economy, that we can shut our doors.
How is your company different from your competitors?
I am a member of the group that we’re trying to impact, so I understand (and have lived) the challenges many face in trying to navigate this tech world.
What was a defining moment in your career?
The first time I was on the TODAY Show. I was like “am I really here?”. “Oh my, Ann Curry is interviewing ME”.
What is your next step with your company, your career?
I really enjoy the work we’re doing with digitalundivided and next we have a series of nationwide workshops to bring silicon valley/alley to communities across the country.
How did you finance your business when it was at the early stage? (Self-funded, crowd-funded, Angel Investor, VC)
Everything I do is self-funded, mostly because I like to focus on building things, rather than raising money.
Tell me something about yourself that we don’t know already.
I played Rugby for 7 years, 4 years in college, 2 years in grad school, and 1 year with Philadelphia Women’s club.
What is your guilty pleasure? (Real Housewives, Chocolate, 50 shades of Grey, etc)
There is nothing I enjoy more than reading super trashy British celebrity magazines like Hello and Ok. The photo shoots in those magazines are better than Monty Python when it comes to British comedy.
If you had one year that you could say was the best year of your life what year would it be? Why? How old were you?
I think any year you’re alive and well and everyone you love is alive and well is a very good year.
Describe a time you failed. What did you learn from that experience?
I guess I don’t look at things as failures, so much as learning experiences. So it’s hard to look back at something and say “oh, no, I failed”. My biggest learning experiences all involved a time when I wasn’t being true to myself.
What do you do fun?
I love to travel, so my husband and I go on a big trip every year (this year was Alaska). I also like to swim, I swim about 4 to 5 times per week.
Do you have a hidden talent?
I sew, not as much as I did growing up, but I do like to sew.
What is your favorite mobile app?
I have a blackberry that is my heart and soul, which means I don’t have access to any cool apps. But I do like to play words with friends on my husband’s iPhone.
What do you do to help focus?
I swim. I’m practicing for my lifeguard certificate.
Cool Kid or Nerd in High school?
Can I be a cool nerd? I was my class president, national honor society and played sports. I was basically everywhere and my parents have the battle scars to prove it.
Any words of advice for up & coming entrepreneurs who are trying to get their products noticed?
BE. YOURSELF. I can’t stress this enough. Being an entrepreneur isn’t a race, but a marathon and it’s so much easier to compete if you just be yourself. Also, learn to say No.
Keep Up with Kathryn: Twitter, The Budget Fashionista, and Digitalundivided
This interview was conducted by WIM intern, Jadine Joseph